Thoughts on Mazda2's

[aspiringnomad]

Anyone own a Mazda2? If so, would greatly appreciate your thoughts on it. I was initially looking at used Mazda3's but figured throwing a roof rack on a used Mazda2 would be a more mustachian move (also easier to find parking with its smaller footprint). Thanks in advance.

[RWD]

The Mazda 3 (2014+) has a little better fuel economy than the Mazda 2. It is 20 inches longer though, so I can see why you might want the footprint of the Mazda 2.

I've only test driven the Mazda 3 so I don't have much to say about the Mazda 2.

[Reynolds531]

I loved my 98 626 for fourteen years. The only concern is newer models do like to rust. Especially wheel wells.

[zolotiyeruki]

I heard about a guy who coated his entire car with truck bed liner.  No issues with rust after that! :P

The 3% higher gas mileage on the 3 is gonna take a looooong time to make up for the $4k difference in purchase price.

A better question to ask than "what is more mustachian" might be "what do I need a car for?"  Once you answer that question, you can better judge which car will fit your needs better.

[former player]

I have one, provided that the UK model is the same or similar to the one you are looking at.

Remember it's basically a Ford platform.

I'm very happy with mine.  No idea about the mileage, as I don't care enough (and don't drive enough) to bother recording it.   No mechanical/maintenance issues other than annual service/road testing - I do jet wash under the wheel arches when I clean it, but no signs of rust (I have a 2009 model bought in 2011) I'm happy with performance (it's pretty nippy) and space (me and a medium size dog).  Possible negative is that it is perhaps a little noisier inside than the ideal, but for a small cheap car something has to give, right?

I'm planning on keeping mine until it or me dies.

[gooki]

A great small hatches available. My in laws have one, my current rental car is one. Provided the price is right, go for it.

[RWD]

I heard about a guy who coated his entire car with truck bed liner.  No issues with rust after that! :P

The 3% higher gas mileage on the 3 is gonna take a looooong time to make up for the $4k difference in purchase price.

A better question to ask than "what is more mustachian" might be "what do I need a car for?"  Once you answer that question, you can better judge which car will fit your needs better.

It's 14% better fuel economy on the highway. If you're doing just city driving then there's no difference.

I agree you won't make up the price difference. Even if you only drove on the highway you'd need to do about 500k miles before you'd save $4k at current gas prices. I just wanted to point out that in this case choosing the smaller car doesn't result in better fuel efficiency.

[zolotiyeruki]

It's 14% better fuel economy on the highway. If you're doing just city driving then there's no difference.

I agree you won't make up the price difference. Even if you only drove on the highway you'd need to do about 500k miles before you'd save $4k at current gas prices. I just wanted to point out that in this case choosing the smaller car doesn't result in better fuel efficiency.

Ah, you're right--I was only looking at the combined fuel economy.

[seattlecyclone]

I rented one for a weekend, seemed like a nice little car. We even put three adults in the back seat...not something I would recommend doing often, but it worked.

[AZDude]

I had a 2006 Mazda 3 for a long time and loved it. Very reliable. I have never driven a Mazda 2, but I would assume its similar.

[aspiringnomad]

I heard about a guy who coated his entire car with truck bed liner.  No issues with rust after that! :P

The 3% higher gas mileage on the 3 is gonna take a looooong time to make up for the $4k difference in purchase price.

A better question to ask than "what is more mustachian" might be "what do I need a car for?"  Once you answer that question, you can better judge which car will fit your needs better.

I definitely don't need a car, so if I buy any car at all I'll have to trim a few mustache whiskers in penance. Having said that, I really wanna get out to the beach and surf several weekends this summer. Also, I'm losing access to a friend's truck and I have a rental property (and primary residence) that require frequent enough visits to Home Depot to maybe justify having an automobile. Finally, and least mustachian of all, I now have access to free parking in a downtown garage for those occasional crazy cold or snowy days when I really, really don't feel like biking. Anyway, all that adds up to me wanting something relatively low in miles <40k and yet in the 7-9k price range, preferably something that might pass as sporty if you squint. Only such model I could find was the Mazda2, but open to other ideas provided they make them with manual transmissions.

Edited to add: Thanks for all the responses so far!

[going2ER]

I have a Mazda 3 and love it, I have never driven a 2 so I don't know how it compares. We bought at the end of the sales year when the new model years were coming out, you can get a great price then since they want all of the previous years models gone.